CHAPTER V. 
Seeking Romantic Adventures—Rooseveet Buys a Ranch—• 
Advantages oe Lite on the Peains—First Appear¬ 
ance AT Medora—The Ranch Buieding—Pursuit oe Big 
Game—Thrieeing Adventure With a Grizzey Bear— 
Cpiimney Butte Ranch—Guns and Tents in Aerica— 
How THE TraveeeErs' Caravan is Made to Order —A 
Graphic Description by the Rev. W. S. Rainseord, D.D. 
I F Theodore Roosevelt, the boy, ever read a dime novel or a story 
^ of wild western life, no mention has ever been made of it. He 
did not get his love of frontier life from the cheap literature that 
kills bears and Indians on every page. The average boy who reads 
of the burly bandit and desperate outlaw holding up stage- coaches 
and railway trains, is apt to admire such bold deeds and imagine 
himself the hero of similar achievements. He is eager to outdo 
the ruffians whose exploits are all duly chronicled. 
Suddenly the band of desparadoes appears, halts the coach in 
an unfrequented spot, flourishes rifles and revolvers, terrorizes the 
helpless passengers, strips them of their valuables, paralyzes by 
threats all attempts at resistance, and having secured the plunder, 
purses, watches and jewelry, vanishes from sight, leaving the out¬ 
raged victims to express their thankfulness at having escaped with 
their lives. Stories of this description, dressed up in hysterical 
phrases, form the staple of that vast mass of pernicious dime 
literature which fascinates the youthful reader and in many 
instances turns him into an adventurer and an outlaw. 
He is thrilled by the strange, wierd, sanguinary tales of pioneer 
life. He craves a career of romantic adventure. He would shoot 
a bear or an Indian; he would ride a bucking horse on a hunting 
excursion; perhaps he would become an armed ruffian and make his 
name a terror by robbery and deeds of violence. His ambition is 
to roam the plains, lead the life of a marauder and become a free- 
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